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THE USE OF TRACI FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Citation:
Bare*, J C. AND G. Norris. THE USE OF TRACI FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Presented at AWMA Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, June 23 - 27, 2002.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
The Use of TRACI for
Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Development
Jane C. Bare1 and Gregory A. Norris2
1) Systems Analysis Branch, Sustainable Technology Division, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH
2) Sylvatica, 147 Bauneg Hill Road, Suite 200, North Berwick, ME
ABSTRACT
Pollution prevention and sustainable development can benefit from having a consistent set of models to help with decision-making. While many practitioners of pollution prevention and sustainable development would agree upon the impact categories which should be included within this model, to date there has not been a model which included all of these impact categories and which is widely accepted for impact assessment modeling within the US. TRACI is an impact assessment tool that includes methodologies and supporting databases to allow assessment in chemical impact categories and resource use categories. TRACI facilitates the characterization of stressors that may have potential effects, including ozone depletion, global warming, acidification, eutrophication, tropospheric ozone (smog) formation, ecotoxicity, human particulate effects, human carcinogenic effects, human non-carcinogenic effects, fossil fuel depletion, and land use effects. Impact categories were characterized at the midpoint level, for various reasons, including a higher level of consensus concerning the modeling at this point in the cause-effect chain. Probabilistic analyses allowed the determination of the appropriate level of sophistication and spatial resolution necessary for impact modeling for each category, yet the tool was designed to accommodate data limitations in current life cycle inventory practice (e.g., site specific information is often not available.). The methodologies underlying TRACI reflect state-of-the-art developments and best-available practice in the US.